Poland has begun extraditing men to Ukraine who were involved in the illegal smuggling of draft dodgers across the border, according to Rzeczpospolita

Ukrainian and Russian social media pages are widely reporting that Poland has started extraditing military-aged male refugees to Ukraine.

They reference an article in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita.

The headline of Rzeczpospolita does indeed state, “Poland has started extraditing men who left the country.”

However, if you carefully read the article itself, it’s not about Ukrainian draft-age men who managed to leave for Poland; it’s about those involved in the illegal smuggling of draft dodgers across the border.

“According to information obtained by Rzeczpospolita from the Border Guard Service, Poland, in accordance with an agreement with Ukraine, has already deported citizens of Ukraine who were smuggling illegal migrants into Europe,” the publication states.

As for the extradition of draft dodgers back to Ukraine, the article explains that it’s a complex process. Kiev must first issue an international arrest warrant for the individual, which Interpol will accept. Then a court proceeding will follow.

“If we detain such a foreigner, for example, for a routine road check, our system will show that he is a person pursued by the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office because Interpol data will be available. We detain such an individual and inform the prosecutor’s office. Whether he will be extradited will be decided by a Polish court,” said Mariusz Charka, the spokesperson for the Polish National Police.

According to Polish border guards, around 80,000 draft-age men entered the country following the start of Russia’s invasion.